Stiliyan Petrov is on the road to recovery thanks to a brilliant initiative by Bulgarian basketball star Nikolay Rashkov.Rashkov's family owns a haulage firm and the University of Maine basketball ace decided to drum up support for Petrov by emblazoning the Support Stan and Cure Leukaemia logos on the company's 70 trucks.After hearing that skipper Petrov had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia, Rashkov felt compelled to do something for his country's icon.He said: "Sport is a global thing. I play basketball and I know what it is to sacrifice yourself in order to play at the very top level. You need support."Stan is a real role model for me and all the sports people in our country. When I heard the news about him, it was devastating."I just thought 'how can I help and how can I show my support?'"I was graced by the fact my father owns a transport business so I came up with the idea that we can brand up the trucks with the 'Support Stan' logo."The most important thing is supporting Stan and about making better awareness of the disease too."It will be difficult to miss these messages because the trucks are huge!"
Here with Birthday Cake on Pic 10, looking well.
FOOTBALL star Stiliyan Petrov is winning his fight against cancer, the Sunday Mail can reveal.The 33-year-old former Celtic midfielder, now playing for Aston Villa, is in remission from leukaemia.His breakthrough was revealed by Tony Blair’s former spin chief Alastair Campbell, who is chairman of a charity raising cash for leukaemia research.The football world was stunned when it emerged in March that Petrov – nicknamed Stan by fans and team-mates – had been diagnosed with the blood cancer.Petrov has since undergone chemotherapy.The Bulgarian joined Celtic in 1999 and became one of the most popular players in the club’s recent history. He moved to Aston Villa in 2006.Two weeks ago, he marked his 33rd birthday by visiting Villa team-mates for the first day of pre-season training under new manager Paul Lambert, who Petrov starred alongside at Parkhead.Professor Chris Bunce, research director at Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, said: “His remission is a fantastic first step towards what we all hope will be a full recovery.“He is clearly aware that this is a necessary step along the road but that there is still danger the disease has not fully gone away.“Although most patients achieve a remission, some regrettably go on to relapse with recurrent disease.“Stiliyan seems to be aware of this in the way he speaks about where he is now. He will be monitored very closely for evidence of resurgence of the disease and should it come back, there will most likely be further treatment options available.”Dad-of-two Petrov is backing a £250,000 campaign to raise funds for A Pedal for Petrov cycle from Celtic Park to Villa Park in Birmingham in September to raise cash for leukaemia and lymphoma research.Villa masseurs Andrew Smith and Alex Butler will cycle the 400 miles. Former spin doctor Campbell will also take part.He said: “Stan is an amazing guy. He is in remission now. People who go through this want to help others, and he is absolutely that type of character.”Lambert has kept the Bulgarian on as club captain regardless of whether he features on the pitch.At his appearance at Villa Park two weeks ago, Petrov said he will keep fighting and believes the worst of the illness is behind him.He said: “I’ve been a strong character since the start of my career.“I always believed that you need to be patient and you need to believe in things, and I believe I will get better.“I know I’ve got a few more months of chemotherapy and I need to go through it. But I think that the hardest bit is over and from now on I just need to wait for the result to be positive.”
Quote from: usav on July 05, 2012, 05:16:07 PMI think I have some dust in my eye.And me
I think I have some dust in my eye.
Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.
Author
Topic: Update on Stan (Read 21941 times)
